Joomla Login LightBox powered by WowJoomla.com

Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!

It has all been said before, but we have all sat through some pretty bad awards shows before. Sometimes they try too hard, other times they do not try nearly hard enough. However, I thought last night's Grammys found a nice groove.

Now, the awards were almost secondary to the performances last night. And really, does anyone mind all that much? The awards tend to go in waves anyway and some are just emotional picks. For instance, as emotional the story of Jennifer Hudson is, she did not have the best R&B album of the year. My pick for that is easily Al Green. Hudson's album might not even be in the top half of that group.

But here is a rundown on some of my thoughts on the night:

Like most, The Sun is now on all of your favorite social networking sites. So if you have not already done so, feel free to add The Sun to your friends. The Sun is on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter.

Stay in contact and get in contact with us. We love to know what's going on in our community.

Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!

While much of the country is tickled to pieces to watch Barack Obama take the inauguration as the 44th president, I am curious how people feel in the Kansas City metro. There simply are so many different pockets of people, I find it hard to believe there is unilateral approval.

In many parts of Kansas City, Mo., you have huge pockets of die hard Obama supporters and die hard Democrats. In other parts, like Johnson County, you have very right learning Republican areas. And then you have mixed areas, like Kansas City, Kan. and some parts of the northland.

I am curious if those people who did not vote for Obama, or are Republicans will be watching the TV or the feed online to see this inauguration? Is this a truly American event and you watch no matter the party? Or is this a partisan event where Obama supporters are hugging and cheering and Republicans slump in their chairs and stew at a new Democratic leader?

The Kansas City Youth Advocacy Office is running a scholarship grant program funded by the Port Authority of Kansas City and area casinos.

The scholarships, which provide a minimum of $1,000 per academic year and can be used for tuition, books, room and board and activity fees, go to Kansas City residents whose household have a total annual income of 80 percent or less of the median income of city households.

Applicants must be between 17-25 years old, pursuing educational opportunities in an accredited or certified college, university or vocational/technical school and have a high school diploma or GED equivalent.

Kate DiCamillo is living the dream for many authors. As a writer of books for children, DiCamillo has become one of the most well known authors in America. Her books "Because of Winn-Dixie" and "Tales of Despereaux" have been hits, with "Despereaux" being released in movie theaters in December.
Tonight DiCamillo comes to the Kansas City Public Library Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St. in Kansas City, Mo., for a talk about her books. The program starts at 7 p.m.
DiCamillo will release "The Magician's Elephant" in September of this year.
DiCamillo recently took the time to answer a few short questions from the Sun:

What was your role with the film adaptation of "Tales of Despereaux" and what has it been like to see it turned into a feature film?
I was kind of kept in the loop, but I wasn't directly involved in any way. It was just this kind of wonderful world, this dream, that got constructed without me having to do any work at all.

How different has the process of turning "Despereaux" into a film been from compared to "Because of Winn-Dixie?"
I was more involved with Winn-Dixie. I worked (a lot) on the screenplay. That was a fabulous experience, too. I learned so much.

What still resonates with you about the story and message in "Tales of Despereaux?"
The power of forgiveness, the power of story, those themes resonate so deeply with me. It is astonishing to see them up on the big screen, to see them brought so beautifully to life.

Fazoli's the Italian fast food chain is offering a promotion where they will give the first 100 people at their store in Independence free spaghetti on Saturday. Folks must be lined up at the Fazolis at 19008 E. 39th St. at 10:30 a.m. to get the free pasta. The company also said everyone in line will have the chance at winning free spaghetti for a year.

We have certainly seen how Kansas Citians flock to anything free, so if you are so inclined, this is the only local Fazoli's participating in the promotion.

The Web site is www.freespaghetti.com.

Something old and something new coming to town in March.

On March 4 The Pink Floyd Experience, billed as the ultimate Pink Floyd tribute band, will bring its act the Uptown.

On March 14 the alternative/screamo act Thursday comes to town at The Beaumont and brings Bring Me The Horizon, 4 Years Stone, Pierce the Vail and Cancerbats with them.

I had the unfortunate pleasure of renting the movie "Surfer, Dude" last night. The movie stars Matthew McConaughey, usually a reliable actor with a decent resume. But perhaps my first clue should have been the fact that the movie went straight to DVD.

If you want to see the definition of "mailing it in" see this movie. Woody Harrelson and Willie Nelson are also in the movie and turn in equally terrible performances.

The premise is that McConaughey is soul surfing legend Steve Addington who returns from a long surf trip and is in need of a little money to keep his easy going ways coming. A former surfer tries to lure Addington into doing a reality show and video game and Addington is freaked out by it all.

McConaughey, who is a prototypical "dude" tries either way too hard or too little to be that "dude." Where as Jeff Bridges's Dude is the pinnacle of dudeness in "The Big Lebowski," Steve Addington may be the bottom of the barrel. Nobody will buy it and it is painful to watch.